Location: Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit
Project Number: 8010-22000-033-011-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 15, 2019
End Date: Aug 31, 2020
Objective:
To discover and characterize natural enemies of the invasive roseau cane scale and determine their natural distribution range in Asia; and characterize their association with host plant genotype differences that may be related to scale insect colonization success.
Approach:
- Conduct field surveys at intervals throughout the growing season at selected sites with roseau cane to record the presence or absence of RCS.
- Plant samples of Roseau cane will be collected, preserved and sent to RCS project cooperators at Univ. Rhode Island for morphological identification and genetic analysis.
- If RCS is found on cane, samples of scale will be collected, preserved and sent to cooperators at the ARS Systematic Entomology Lab for morphological identification and genetic analysis.
- If natural enemies of RCS are found, samples will be collected, preserved and sent to cooperators at the ARS Systematic Entomology Lab for morphological identification and genetic analysis.
- Depending on the species identifications provided, US cooperators with APHIS (Otis PPQ laboratory, Massachusetts) may request shipments of live natural enemies for further evaluation in USDA quarantine laboratories.
